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Surgery to Quieten the Yelling of a Demented Old Man

Creator

Gafner, George

Bibliographic Citation

Journal of Medical Ethics. 1987 Dec; 13(4): 195-197.

Abstract

The 84-year-old man's incessant yelling caused him to be unmanageable in all settings--at home with his aged wife, in nursing homes, and on the medical and psychiatric floors of a Veterans Administration Medical Center. A host of behavioral and pharmaceutical interventions were attempted unsuccessfully. Finally, it was proposed that a single, recurrent laryngeal nerve be crushed in order to 'render his voice to be a very acceptable soft tone.'